Mike's Birthday
by Bovaque
Summary: After all he's been through, you'd think Mike would be able to get through a birthday
1. 3 Boxes

Dinner at the Wheeler householdthat night consisted of homemade tacos made with greasy chicken covered in pepper jack cheese melted thick on top of it. Mike knew it was his dad's favorite but he didn't like the cheese.Too spicy, especially how his mom made it but it wouldn't do to complain about it. His mom had labored over dinner for over an hour. It had been a long time since he had seen his mom actively go out of her way to please his dad. To his credit, Ted Wheeler actually took notice of what his wife did.

"Oh wow honey, this looks delicious."

Karen finished putting down the plate of tacos on a hot plate.

"Thanks, made it just for you," she placed a small cup of guacamole in front of Mike," and this is for you."

If Nancy was here, she'd probably look at Mike weird, she couldn't understand why he liked guacamole on his tacos. However, Nancy wasn't there. She'd been coming in late from the Hawkins Post just about every night now. With his sister absent for most of the day, it made Mike feel very alone.El and Will being gone didn't help. He had promised her that he would use Dustin's radio and call her every day. A sudden rainstorm had fried Dustin's radio while Mike and El had been talking. Dustin was still working on it.

"Mike honey," Karen Wheeler put her taco down and put her hands together," you know your birthday is next week."

He didn't like the look on her face, it didn't bode well. "Yes…?"

"Three boxes."

Mike looked at his mom incredulously," Three boxes!"

Karen resumed eating her taco," Full, the whole family's coming over, not including your friends. You're going to get a lot of new toys, so three boxes."

Needless to say, that revelation had put Mikein a mood. Mike stomped down to the basement to put together 3 boxes. He put one down and searched the basement for stuff to fill it. He could hear his parent's footsteps as they went upstairs. As he finished filling up the first box he got an idea. He left the full box filled up toys and books and grabbed the two empty boxes. Up the basement stairs and up the upstairs, he deposited the boxes by his door and made his way to his parent's door. Standing beside it, he could hear quiet the noise. When he knocked, the noise suddenly stopped.

"Yes," said his mother, slowly.

"Um, can I, like, have a yard sale tomorrow?"

The silence turned into hushed whispers. Mike rocked on his heels back and forth, waiting for a response.

"I suppose, Mike," said Karen Wheeler.

"Alright, thanks, Mom." Mike smiled for the first time in a while. He made for his room but stopped.

"Hey Mom."

"What is it Mike," Mike was surprised to hear his dad shout.

"Can I use the lemons to make lemonade too?"

"Yes Mike, just go to bed."

However, Mike didn't go to his room. Instead, he made his way to Nancy's to use her phone to call El.


	2. Make Do

Nancy, with her hurried movements in the room next door, awoke Mike in the early light of the Tuesday morning. It was luck that afforded her to keep her job. Mr. Holloway, being Flayed and all, had not bothered to file the paperwork necessary to fire Nancy. With the added blessing of being in the Starcourt Mall when it "burned" down, Nancy had managed to get herself promoted to reporting for the Hawkins Post and she took great pains to get there early. When he heard her car pulling out of the driveway he decided to get out of bed. Pulling on a white t-shirt, he opened his door and stared down the hallway. He could hear the noises in his parent's room. His dad would be heading to work at six and his mother would be going to a parent-teacher conference at Hawkins Elementary. She had deigned to leave Holly at home with Mike. However, Holly was more than happy to sit in the living room eating cereal and watching tv all day.

It took about an hour for Mike to set up for the yard sale. It would've been easier for him to drag the tables his mother used for bridge club if Lucas had been here. Finding a good spot to stake the umbrella would've been simpler if Dustin was there. El would've made setting out everything on the tables fun. He wouldn't need the radio to keep him entertained if Will was here. However, he was alone so he made do.

El was the reason he wanted to have this yard sale, to begin with. With Christmas fast approaching he wanted to get her something special. He was pretty much broke, though. Back in February, he had convinced Nancy to take them with her and Jonathan to go watch Vision Quest and she had loved it. They spent the movie resting their heads on each other and they had even kissed when Madonna sang "Crazy for You". He hoped the yard sale would get him enough to be able to buy her the VHS and the soundtrack on vinyl. She loved music and she would love the gift.

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for people to come up. From across the road, Mrs. Gillespie came almost immediately, leaning on her cane to check out his shirts to see if any would fit her grandson. Clay McClure came by to look at his toys but balked at the prices that were set saying he'd need to ask his mom for money and could he possibly hold some items for him? He got a lot of questions about whether or not the lemonade was homemade. An assortment of faces, young and old, mother and father, brother and sister, teen and adult came to his house to see what he had to offer. It did not take long for the lemonade to be drunk and shorter still for the majority of his belongings to find new owners and thankfully so, the afternoon weather had turned quite inhospitable.

Mike collected what few valuables were left and hastily constructed a sign that said that everything left on the tables was free. The heat of the house greeted him in waves. Holly was still seated in the living room sans cereal watching Fraggle Rock. For the second day in a role, Mike Wheeler felt happy. He had made $57.83 with the yard sale, which was more than enough to buy the movie, the soundtrack and have money left to spare. He went up to put the money up in his room. Tomorrow would call for a trip to the video store.


	3. Good Friends

_There is nothing more like hell than sitting through a boring sermon_, thought Mike as he got up from the pew with his family.

The usual pastor's youth made him more inclined to spice in personal anecdotes into his sermons. His mom stopped him and made him promise to be back by dinner. Mike didn't think it would take him that long, but he promised. He left his brown suit jacket with his mom and left the church on his bike.

Riding his bike made him feel a little better. It gave him a chance to stretch his legs after having sat for so long. It gave him time to be alone with his thoughts too, however. Past races with Will and the guys.

They used to race down the town streets, to Mirkwood, to Mike's, to Castle Byers. As the cold wind greeted his face, warm tears softly greeted his cheeks. He hated crying, (_crying is for sissies_) he wiped them away just before he got in view of the video store. He didn't want anyone to see his tears. He could pass off the redness of his face to the cold winds hitting his face

"Welcome to Family Video, will you need assistance finding anything today?" The lady at the counter was that girl that Steve and Dustin hung with this summer.

"Yeah, is Steve here?"

She squinted her eyes," Oh, I'm sorry I forgot your name, Mickey?"

Mike stared at her. "It's Mike." She looked at him.

"I'll be right back."

Mike watched her leave the check-out desk and enter a back exit. "Hey dingus," he heard her say, "One of those kids you hang out with is here."

Out of the back came Steve, along with Dustin. "Hey Mike, what is it that I can do for you today," asked Steve.

"Do you still have Vision Quest?" Steve balked."Yep, ho-hold on I'm going to have to find it, it's... it's a mess back there. Robin could you help me, there's a little box with a VHS and Vinyl."

He was left there with Dustin, the first time in a long time. "So...they seem like fun."

Dustin nodded," Yeah, Steve and Robin are real fun. We were in the back watching Short Circuit." An awkward pause.

"Have you seen Lucas lately?" "He's been hanging around with Max lately."

_Her_, he thought bitterly. It was her that pushed El past her breaking point and tried to frame his concern as him not believing in her strength. _Fuck her for that_. Of course he believed in her. He had when no one else had.

"El and Will are coming tomorrow right," asked Dustin.

"Yeah, they're coming in with Jonathan. Joyce can't come. She's working," he paused.

"Are you coming or do you think you'll be busy with them?"

Dustin blinked back astonishment," Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Mike said," do you realize how long it's been since we've just hung out together?"

"Well, dude you've just been acting weird ever since they left."

The anger swept into Mike's face," OF COURSE I'VE BEEN ACTING WEIRD, I feel like I've been left behind, that my friends have moved on to better places, to better friends."

"Well maybe instead of moping about it you should've come to us and talked about it," said Dustin. Mike blinked.

"I _wanted_ to, do you honestly think I haven't _tried_. I just don't want to feel like a burden. I just need someone, anyone to talk to. After he left, I've just felt like I have no one to confide in-"

"But Will is gone, and I shouldn't have to play therapist to your problems." Mike's face scrunched up, angered and on the verge of tears.

_Not here_, he thought, not in front of them. "Fuck you, Dustin. I just thought you were a better friend than that."

Steve and Robin were back and just standing there, watching. Mike felt embarrassed.

"Here's your stuff," said Robin," twenty-five seventy." Mike gave her thirty and got back his change. He left in a hurry, not looking back. Outside, he got on his bike and took off towards home. He stopped at Melvald's and went towards the back with his bike. Behind the dumpster and a little ways back into the woods behind it was a place, a secret place. Out in the wooded area, there was a drop-off, a wall from a building long gone.

It was Will that found it. It was his place he went when he waited for his mom to finish work. Shortly after they had met. Mike could see the faded marker where they had wrote their names, Will's was blue and his was red.

Alone, he let the anger that had been building out. He started kicking the wall over and over. He started screaming and kicking, and screaming, and kicking, and screaming, and then he punched it. It sent shockwaves up his arm. _Oh God, it hurts_. His knuckles were bleeding. He fell back, screaming and holding his wrist.

"Are you alright," a voice asked. Mike looked up to Mr. Melvald standing above him, a look of concern on his old face. Mike looked at him with embarrassment and shame.

Melvald took him in the store to clean and bandage his knuckles. Mike winced when he put rubbing alcohol on it.

"I thought you were closed on Sundays," he asked.

Mr. Melvald took some gauze and began wrapping it around Mike's hand," I come in on Sundays and make sure the store's all cleaned up for tomorrow," he paused.

"Do you need to call anyone?" Mike shook his head.

"No, and sorry for that, I've just been going through a lot."

Melvald chuckled," I could tell. Do you want to talk about it?" Mike shook his head.

He thanked him for the help, and after Melvald said he wouldn't charge him for the bandages he left.

Outside, Mike got on his bike. He was a bit unsteady, having to steer with one hand. In fact, he ended up falling down twice. After the second time, he decided to just walk his bike home. He hoped the rest of the day passed by quickly, and tomorrow even quicker.

He couldn't wait for his birthday to be over.


End file.
